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<p><em>Alton Brooks “Al” Parker Jr.</em> was one of three children born to Alton B. Parker Sr. and Gertrude Johnson Parker. He was born in Philadelphia, PA while his father was stationed in San Diego, CA. Subsequently, his father was medically discharged from the Navy and moved the family to a small farm near Fort Bragg, NC. Al often told stories of working in the tobacco fields for .25 cents a day when he was a boy. In 1939 the family moved to Fairmont, NC, where Al’s father was employed as a postal clerk. Al graduated from high school as the class salutatorian, played baseball and was elected co-captain of their state champion football team, earning a football scholarship to Wake Forest University. Instead, he chose to enter the University of North Carolina as a pre-med student. While there he competed for an appointment to the USMA from Senator Frank P. Graham, entering as a plebe in July 1951.</p>
<p>Al maintained that his primary objectives at the Academy were to graduate and earn a commission in the military. So, although a good athlete, he concentrated on academics. However, he did win the Regimental Intramural Wrestling Championship during plebe year. He and Rich Cardillo were roommates for all four years, an unusual occurrence. Rich recalls that they were both “goats,” supporting one another with help from other classmates who had no academic problems. They got along well together, Al with his southern drawl and Rich with his Jersey accent. Al graduated in 1955 and was commissioned in the Infantry branch.</p>
<p>Al attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, GA and qualified airborne, Ranger and Pathfinder. He subsequently was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division, serving for three years as a platoon leader at Fort Carson, CO and in Germany. Returning to the United States, he was assigned to Fort Benning as an instructor. One of his proudest moments there was narrating the “Mad Minute” firepower demonstration in front of more than 1,000 people, including President Eisenhower. Al then spent two years as a company commander with the 82nd Airborne Division. He served two tours in Vietnam, one as an RVN battalion advisor and one with G-3 Plans working on plans to deploy U.S. Forces from Vietnam. In between deployments, Al was assigned as an ROTC instructor at Eastern Kentucky University and as an instructor of the basic course at Fort Knox, KY. Al’s final assignment before retirement in 1976 as a lieutenant colonel was as the deputy commander for the Groppingen Military Community in Germany. Al was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, three Bronze Stars (one with “V” device), the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.</p>
<p>Following retirement, Al spent many years imparting the knowledge and experience he had gained on active duty to high school students. Initially, he accepted a position as an instructor at Millersburg Military Institute in Kentucky. After three years, Al moved to Beloit, WI, where he was an instructor with the Junior ROTC program at Beloit Memorial High School. In 1981, Al returned to Millersburg Military Institute, this time as its superintendent. When MMI closed, he took a position as a district manager for Exidc Corporation in Cincinnati, OH from 1986 to 1988. Two more tours as a Junior ROTC instructor followed: at Southwestern High School in Baltimore, MD (1988-91) and at Richmond Senior High School in Rockingham, NC (1991-94). Finally, the family returned to Lexington, KY, where he became a substitute teacher at various senior high schools in the Fayette County School District. As Al’s wife, Irene, said, “We probably moved as often in retirement as we did while Al was on active duty.”</p>
<p>In 1953, after the Army-Duke football game in New York City, Al and his classmate Bill Burrus went “clubbing” in the Village, where they met Irene Guderian and two of her friends. Al successfully got Irene’s telephone number and, as they say, “the rest is history.” They were married on July 30, 1955 with Bill Burrus as Al’s best man. They had three children: Claudia (Parker) Holton, Alton B. Parker III (Trip), and Lisa (Parker) Houston; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and two much loved Pomeranians, Lexie and Chellie. Al’s dedication to his country was exceeded only by his love of family and close friends.</p>
<p>Well Done, Al; Be Thou at Peace.</p>
<p><em>— Family and Classmates</em></p>
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